Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [368]
Avoiding the Crowds. Though Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks receive far fewer visitors than nearby Yosemite, they still get crowded, especially in the summer. Luckily, there's a lot of space here, so it's relatively easy to find solitude. To get the most from the parks while avoiding traffic, try to visit before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, keeping in mind that snow can limit access in the high elevations. Fall provides some scenic color often missing from the California landscape. As always, a trip to the backcountry will help avoid the crowds.
You can also try taking a dead-end road into the parks. Mineral King, South Fork and, to a lesser extent, Cedar Grove all lack the through traffic prevalent on the larger highways.
Just the Facts
GETTING THERE & GATEWAYS
There are two main entrances to the parks. Calif. 198 through Visalia and the town of Three Rivers leads to the Ash Mountain Entrance in Sequoia National Park. Calif. 180 from Fresno leads straight to the Big Stump Entrance near Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park. Three dead-end entrance roads are open only in the summer: the Kings Canyon Highway (a continuation of Calif. 180) to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, and two smaller roads to Mineral King and to South Fork, both in the south part of Sequoia National Park.
The parks are roughly equidistant (5 hr. by car) from San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Ash Mountain Entrance is 36 miles, or about an hour, from Visalia. The Big Stump Entrance is 53 miles from Fresno, about an hour's drive.
The Nearest Airports. The closest major airport is Fresno-Yosemite International Airport (☎ 559/621-6699; www.flyfresno.org), 53 miles from the Big Stump Entrance in Kings Canyon. Airlines include Alaska, Allegiant Air, America West/Mesa, American/American Eagle, Continental, and Delta. You'll find most major car-rental companies here. Visalia Municipal Airport (☎ 559/713-4201; www.flyvisalia.com), 36 miles from the Ash Mountain Entrance, handles daily direct service to Los Angeles on United Express.
Toll-free reservation numbers for airlines and car-rental companies appear in the appendix (p. 660).
INFORMATION
Contact Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, 47050 Generals Hwy., Three Rivers, CA 93271-9651 (☎ 559/ 565-3341; www.nps.gov/seki).
VISITOR CENTERS
There are three year-round visitor centers in the parks, where you can talk with rangers, see exhibits, and buy books and maps. The biggest is in Sequoia National Park at Lodgepole, 4½ miles north of Giant Forest Village. It has exhibits on geology, wildlife, air quality, and park history. The Foothills Visitor Center, just inside the Ash Mountain Entrance to Sequoia National Park on Calif. 198, includes exhibits on the chaparral region's ecosystem. The visitor center in Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park shows exhibits on logging and the role of fire in the forests. Also, the Giant Forest Museum has exhibits on giant sequoias. The small visitor centers at Cedar Grove and Mineral King are open only during the summer.
FEES
It costs $20 per motor vehicle ($10 for individuals on foot, bike, or motorcycle) to enter the parks for up to a week. Park campgrounds charge $12 to $20 a night.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS & WARNINGS
The roads in the parks are steep and winding, and those in RVs will find it easiest to travel on Calif. 180 from Fresno. All groundwater should be boiled, filtered, or otherwise purified before drinking. Rattlesnakes are common; look where you step and touch. In the foothills, check your clothes frequently for ticks. Beware also of black bears. When camping, store all food in lockers and put all garbage in bear-proof containers.
SEASONS & CLIMATE
Sequoia and Kings Canyon, for the most part, share a climate that varies considerably depending on the region of the